As vehicles become “smarter,” connection between vehicles and devices is developing as an essential trend. Connection between vehicles and driver's devices is currently developing from wired cables to short distance communication (for example, Bluetooth, and the like). In vehicle smart technologies using such wired cables or Bluetooth, multimedia data such as music and small amounts of control data such as music selection/stop/play are transmitted to be provided to a user. In addition, hands-free data transmission technologies in which mobile phones are conveniently used in the vehicle are also being added.
The above-described Bluetooth technology is technology using low power compared to other wireless technologies. Thus, the Bluetooth technology is essentially adopted and applied in smart devices. However, since the Bluetooth technology uses a low-power profile to have a speed of 1 Mbps, the Bluetooth technology is suitable for low-speed data transmission. The Bluetooth technology is utilized in music transmission and hands-free data which are suitable for a low speed. On the other hand, in high-speed data transmission of 10 Mbps or more, Wi-Fi based wireless transmission technologies are used. However, a Wi-Fi function is set to be turned ON/OFF by a user's selection due to a battery problem of a smart device. In particular, since a user of a smart device should continuously look ahead while driving a vehicle, selecting Wi-Fi ON/OFF functions in the vehicle may cause safety problems during driving.
In recent years, smart phones have provided such a Wi-Fi tethering function that an external device can use high-speed Internet access such as Wi-Fi of the smart phone. Tethering refers to technology in which a high-speed Internet connection of the smart phone is shared by connecting a smart device without a communication function and the smart phone via Wi-Fi. The number of smart devices capable of being connected may be determined depending on performance of the smart phone. Thus, a large number of smart devices may provide Internet services to users through tethering as if they were connected to the Internet.
Meanwhile, a development period of the vehicle industry is two or three years, which is two or three times the current development period of smart devices. Information services used in the most recently released vehicles always correspond to information of smart devices from about two to three years prior, and therefore a sales volume of such smart devices may not be high.
In order to overcome this problem, products in which basic functions and communication functions of a vehicle are separated have been developed. The basic functions of the vehicle are developed for two or three years before being released, but the communication functions are separately released. In this instance, services are provided by connection with available smart communication devices. When Wi-Fi tethering technology is applied to such functions, vehicle smart services using high-speed data connection can be provided.
However, the Wi-Fi tethering technology consumes large amounts of the smart phone's battery power, and therefore a user's operation is needed in the smart phone. As described above, such user's operation may cause safety problems while driving. Thus, technologies for automatically connecting Wi-Fi tethering have not been commercialized yet.